Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, acknowledge the contribution of all of the agencies, including the county councils, the Irish Red Cross Society, the Civil Defence, and volunteers from the local communities in terms of their efforts during the recent flooding.

The Government has approved an allocation of €5 million to be distributed as emergency humanitarian support to small businesses, which through no fault of their own have been unable to secure flood insurance and were recently flooded. The Irish Red Cross Society has agreed to administer the scheme. The objective of the scheme is to provide a once-off ex-gratiacontribution towards the costs of damage incurred by those small businesses which were unable to secure flood insurance and were flooded arising from the impact of Storm Desmond during the period 4 December 2015 to 17 December 2015. The scheme is aimed at providing a contribution to the costs of returning business premises to their pre-flood condition, including the replacement of flooring, fixtures and fittings and damaged stock. It applies only to rateable premises that have been flooded and it is intended as an emergency humanitarian assistance contribution rather than compensation for loss or a replacement for the cover provided by insurance.

The nature of the impact on businesses affected by the flooding required that as an emergency measure a speedy process be put in place to meet their needs. In this regard, a two-step approach is being taken, involving an initial application which, if successful will lead to a quick payment to be capped at €5,000 per property. I am informed by the Minister of State, Deputy Harris, that there will be a five-day turnaround or less in this regard. As such, the scheme is not overly bureaucratic. There must be clarification in relation to whether a property was flooded and if at the time of the flooding it was a rateable premises. To say that the application system is slow and laborious is untrue. The Minister of State, Deputy Harris, was involved in the design of this scheme. It has been designed in such a way as to ensure a quick turnaround of applications to assist businesspeople to resume business as soon as possible.

It is anticipated that some businesses will have incurred significant damages and will require a more detailed assessment of losses incurred. In these cases, a second more detailed assessment of losses incurred will be required. This will provide the scope for a further payment, with the total payment available capped at €20,000. However, this will be a more lengthy process requiring a detailed assessment. The total level of support available under both stages will be capped at €20,000. The criteria for qualification for payment under the scheme are as follows: only those small businesses that could not secure flood insurance are eligible; for the purpose of this scheme, a small business will be defined as one with up to 20 employees; the business premises must have been flooded during the period 4 December 2015 and 17 December 2015, with this verified by the relevant local authority; any location within the State that was flooded during the period in question is encompassed by the scheme and at the time of the flood, the business must have been trading and in a rateable premises. Applications forms are available on the Irish Red Cross Society website. The scheme is targeted at trading businesses rather than landlords. It is anticipated that this will address the vast majority of businesses affected. However, where particular circumstances arise, each case will be dealt with on an individual basis.

The emergency scheme does not apply to farmers. Farmers in flooded areas can make contact with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine animal welfare helpline at Callsave 076 1064408 or 01 6072379 or Teagasc at 076 1113555. I will bring the Deputy's concerns regarding farmers to the attention of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney, who is unavailable today.

I have no doubt that the farming organisations, whether the IFA, ICMSA, ICSA Ireland or others, will be involved in ensuring there are no feed shortages. One has to applaud the IFA. In 2009, it stepped up to the mark and helped out all farmers on an individual basis by getting fodder from other parts of the country and bringing it to flood-risk areas. I have no doubt farmers will not be left wanting when they have the likes of the IFA and other such organisations at their disposal.

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